The only one of its kind in Mason and Jackson counties in West Virginia as well as Meigs, Jackson, and Gallia counties in Ohio, the CHF clinic at PVH is designed to help patients become better educated on the CHF disease process, manage medications, have more frequent interactions with CHF clinicians and avoid hospital readmissions.

Physicians who want a CHF patient evaluated simply call the clinic for an appointment. Under the direction of Dr. Damron, patients in the heart failure program are evaluated and assessed by Kevin Gladis, board-certified nurse practitioner.

“CHF clinicians work in tandem with the patient’s primary care physician to manage and coordinate care during the acute phases of CHF. The clinic also treats medically fragile patients on a regular basis to administer diuretics and offer other medical services for CHF,” Damron said.

Patients are evaluated within seven to 14 days post discharge from the hospital or upon referral from an outpatient office setting. The patient will continue to be monitored every one to two weeks along with frequent telephone interactions to help prevent a hospital readmission.